


I Can't Help It (I've Fallen)

by everywinter



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-09-01 16:29:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16768753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everywinter/pseuds/everywinter
Summary: The same pretty boy comes in week after week to flip through all the artist portfolios in their shop. He catches Jae's interest, and considering how often he flips through Jae's portfolio in particular, Jae's caught his too.





	I Can't Help It (I've Fallen)

**Author's Note:**

> Title from [Twice - Heart Shaker](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRzxEiBLQCA).

“Oh, Jae, your Wednesday afternoon is here.”

Jae turns to glance behind his shoulder at the familiar figure sitting in their waiting area. He’s hunched over Jae’s portfolio, the big red letters of his name distinct and clear on the black cover, messy black hair covering his face.

Brian’s pointy elbow jabs him in the back. “Are you going to be hospitable and talk to him, or what?”

“Stop neglecting your client.” Jae smacks his elbow away from him. “And you’re gloved, stop touching me!”

“It’s my elbow, my elbow isn’t going to touch her.” Brian turns back to his client. “We’re good, right, Dahyunie?”

Dahyun tosses a thumbs up over her shoulder without looking away from her phone. “You do you, Bri-bri. I trust you not to give me some sort of blood-born infection.”

“See, she trusts me, it’s all good.” Brian turns back to the baby penguin on Dahyun’s back. “Whatever the case, you should go say hi. You know he’s always happiest when you go see him.”

“Wait, stop,” Brian immediately pulls away from Dahyun as she sits up and cranes her head to look past the counter. “this sounds juicy. I wanna see this guy.”

“He’s cute right?” Brian enthuses, “Dowoon’s been in like every single day this month, super polite, flips through all the portfolios, then chickens out and leaves. He really likes Jae’s stuff though, always flips through his book more than once.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.” Dahyun flops back onto the table. “Dowoon looks sweet. I hope he’ll follow through, Jae’s work is so pretty.”

“Then why didn’t you ask for one from me?” Jae teases.

“You told me to come to Brian,” She laughs, “he’s better with the black and grey.”

“True enough.” Jae leans over to take a peek. “Seriously, it looks amazing. It’s like I could feel all the fuzz if I brushed my finger over it.”

“I’m so excited, the only thing keeping me from wiggling around is the fact that I don’t want my new buddy to have a permanent defect.”

“Stop harassing my client and go say hi.” Brian says, shoving Jae away from them with his foot. “Maybe you can finally get him to book an appointment.”

Jae takes a deep breath in through his nose, brushes the proverbial dust off his jeans, and turns around to wave at the young man sitting on the couch. When he looks up, he shoots Jae this giant grin, and all his exposed skin immediately flushes bright red.

“Oh my god,” Jae manages through clenched teeth, “Brian, he’s blushing again.”

“He always blushes when you’re involved.” Brian says, not turning away from where he’s adding a highlight on the penguin. “He’s a shy boy.”

“Aw, shy boy.” Dahyun echoes, head pillowed on her arms. “I love that for him. Do you guys ever talk to him?”

“I try, but he gets bright fucking red whenever I walk over and bolts.” Jae admits, “I think that Wonpil tried to make conversation with him at one point, and that’s how we got his name, but he never really says a lot.”

“Oh my goodness,” Dahyun squeals, “got a little crush, huh? A little bit of a tattoo shop romance?”

“Enough of that, don’t you have a tattoo to get finished?”

“I just have to lay here, Brian’s doing all the work.”

“Actually, I’m done.” Brian says, giving the penguin one last gentle wipe. “Stand up and pass me your phone? I’ll take a picture so you can see it.”

The look of pure glee on the client’s face (and they’re always happy with the tattoos from their shop) the second they get a good look at their new ink is Jae’s favourite part of the job. Dahyun’s almost vibrating in excitement and when she takes her phone back from Brian, her entire face lights up.

“Oh my god, Brian, I love it!” She says, doing a little dance. “He’s even cuter than I had hoped!”

“I’m glad you like it.” Brian laughs, “Mirror’s over there if you wanna get a look at it that way.”

It’s not Dahyun’s first tattoo, but she’s as giddy as if it were. She asks Jae to take at least a dozen different shots of it in different lighting. Jamie wanders into the shop, laptop slung over her shoulder, and Dahyun immediately latches onto her to show her newest acquisition.

Jae rolls his eyes with a grin. When he turns, Dowoon’s staring at the group of them, the longing obvious in his eyes. He considers walking over to talk to him, but it feels like a private moment. He has a good feeling that he’ll be seeing Dowoon again soon.

* * *

The next Wednesday, Jae’s pressing the stencil onto his walk-in when Dowoon walks in. Rather than going to sit down on the couches, the way he usually does, he hesitantly makes his way over to the counter.

“Hey,” Jamie puts her iPad down at her station and makes her way over to Dowoon. “you’re early.”

“Uh, yeah.” Jae always forgets how deep Dowoon’s voice is until he speaks again. “I hope that’s okay?”

“Totally fine, sooner you pick something out, the sooner we can get started.” She gestures to the display case full of jewelry under the countertop. “Do you have an idea of what you want?”

Jae loses sight of Dowoon when he crouches down in front of the cabinet to look at the jewelry inside. “I don’t really know… something in black? What would you recommend?”

“Studs for sure.” Jamie says, “Less jostling around during the healing process and these disks over here would be versatile and trendy in black.”

“Sounds good to me.” He stands back up and accepts the waivers from Jamie.

“You’re well acquainted with the waiting area, I’m going to go run these through the autoclave while you go fill those out.”

Jae peels the paper off his client’s skin. “Alright, take a look at the placement; let me know if you want me to move it at all. You can go ask your friends for a second opinion if you’d like.”

She scurries off to the girl and boy sitting in the waiting room, turning her forearm this way and that for them to inspect.

He lets his eyes wander over to where Dowoon’s hunched over the clipboard. Even from across the room, Jae can tell that Dowoon’s gripping the pen for dear life. His client bounces back over while her two friends sit down on the couch a respectable distance away from Dowoon. The girl nudges the boy and he gets a discerning look on his face before leaning over to ask Dowoon a question. Predictably, his ears immediately turn red, but he manage to stutter out a reply.

“It’s perfect, you’ve got an expert eye.” The girl grins. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Oh, eager beaver.” Jae pats the padded table next to him. “Get up on here, and we can get this pretty little rabbit started.”

The little linework bunny stands on its hind legs on her smooth forearm and Jae can almost see its little nose wiggling in interest. She lays down on the table and when Jae snaps on his latex gloves, everything else falls away. He gives the piece his absolute undivided attention and other than the creek of his client’s plastic phone case being clenched in her opposite fist, she takes it like a champion.

“You’re a badass,” He says easily, wiping away the ink before following the rabbit’s gently folded ear with a line of black. “you’re being super brave.”

“Thanks,” She chuckles, “I’m not being brave, I’m just sort of gritting my teeth. Besides, I’m third in line and I saw the gorgeous little things you made for my friends. I know this is going to be worth it.”

“I hope so,” Jae laughs, “this is a cute little guy, if I do say so myself.”

“Do you know that guy in the waiting room?” She winces when Jae adds the fluffy little details to the rabbit’s ears. “I’m just asking because I saw you craning your neck over to look at him a couple times when I was talking to my friends.”

“Uh, I guess I know him. We’re familiar.” Jae says, “I’ve seen him around.”

“The gentleman doth protest too much.” She turns a little to catch his eye. “Don’t worry, Jake’s really friendly, he’s really good at making people feel relaxed.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

“Whatever you say.”

“Hey listen, sass-master, don’t argue with the man who’s permanently modifying your body.”

“Please, you’re an artist, you’d never ruin a piece for something as petty as revenge.”

“That’s a pretty big assumption to make, considering you haven’t even looked at the tattoo yet.”

“I creeped your Instagram. I have faith in your work.”

“Well, it’s time to see if your faith was well deserved.” He wipes the last of the plasma and ink away from her skin. “Up you get.”

“Done?” She sounds shocked.

“Done,” Jae parrots, helping her upright. “what do you think?”

Her eyes light up and a huge smile spreads over her face. “It’s beautiful, I love it. Thank you so much.”

“I live to please. Mind if I take a picture?”

They snap a couple shots in front of the black backdrop they’ve set up in the shop and she bounds off to show her friends before Jae has to wrap her back up. Dowoon’s not in the waiting area anymore and Jae makes a quick scan of the shop before noticing him sitting at Jamie’s station. She’s just finished piercing him and two black circles now sit in his lobes. He has the look of someone who’s shocked but pleased. He keeps turning his head this way and that to catch sight of the new jewellery in his ears.

“Are you sure you don’t know him?”

Jae jumps at his client’s voice suddenly behind him. “I’m sure.”

“Obviously you want to know him though.” She says as he wraps her arm up. “You should go for it, he’s cute.”

“You should go for it then,” He shoots back. “maybe I should have given you a hen instead, you’re so nosey.”

“I’m already super occupied,” She says, blowing her friends in the waiting room a kiss. The girl rolls her eyes, smiles fondly, while the boy catches her kiss and pretends to put it in his pocket. “I like chickens. Maybe I’ll come back later for that one.”

“You’re ridiculous, get out of my shop.” Jae says, gently putting the last piece of tape onto the saran-wrap.

“Before I’ve paid you?”

“Okay, give me your money, then get out.”

She tips him well and leaves hand in hand with her companions. Jae waves back as she waves goodbye, the other girl’s hand still clenched in hers.

“Jae, move, we need the machine.” Jamie startles him out of his stupor and he scrambles out of her way.

Dowoon’s ears are still a little red, but he can’t tell if it’s from his new piercings or just his perpetual blush. He finishes paying and Jae expects him to bolt out of the shop the way he usually does, but he lingers in front of the counter instead.

“You good, dude?” Jae asks.

“Yeah…” He turns an even brighter red when Jamie reaches over and pokes him in the wrist, sends him a look that Jae can’t properly decipher. “I, uh, was wondering if I could book an appointment with you. I’d really like to get a piece from you.”

“Oh,” Jae can feel heat creeping up his neck for some reason. “well, I have time for a consult right now if you do.”

“Yeah, now would be fine.” Dowoon’s clenching the sleeves of his hoodie. “I know exactly what I want though.”

Jae resists the urge to roll his eyes and sigh. He hadn’t pegged Dowon for the micro-managing type. “Yeah, sure, come over to my station and we can talk about it.”

Dowoon follows him like a little lost duck and waits for Jae to clean off the table before he takes a seat in the stool next to Jae’s.

“So,” Jae pulls out his notepad and spins his pen in his hand. “what’d you have in mind?”

“A lion, preferably not full body and in colour.”

“Okay, cool,” Jae scrawls down the instructions onto his clean page. “any idea where you wanna put it?”

“Maybe here?” He rolls up his shirt-sleeve to reveal a pale forearm.

“Good solid space. Do you have any more specific things you’d like?”

Dowoon shakes his head. “I’ve looked through your portfolio, I like your work a lot. I’m giving you complete creative freedom.”

Jae gives him a dubious look. “Seriously?”

Dowoon nods. “Seriously. You probably hear that a lot, but I genuinely just want a piece from you.”

“Alright then,” Jae can already feel himself getting excited. “I actually have a spot open on the 29th, starting in the morning. Would that be okay with you?”

It’s a little bit tighter of a timeline than Jae usually gives himself (10 days to come up with a completely original design actually is a little crazy for him. he likes to give himself time to work at his own pace.), but he’s already running through ideas in his head.

“Yeah, that’d be fine.” Dowoon follows Jae back to the front of the store to give him his contact information. “Do I need to leave a deposit or anything like that?”

“Nope, consultation’s free.” Jae’s fingers fly over the keyboard. “Just don’t stand me up on the day of.”

A little smile spreads over Dowoon’s face. “I’m not that kind of man. You can count on me.”

They shake hands. “I’ll hold you to it.”

Jae draws like a man possessed. When he’s not actively tattooing, he’s working on Dowoon’s piece. While he’d usually take some time to draw flash, or just dick around with Jamie, Jae can’t get this lion out of his head. The design is extremely distinct in his mind, in a way that very few of his ideas ever are. He breezes through it easily and emails a solid sketch for Dowoon to finalize within a couple days.

_I love it._ Dowoon emails back. _Do you have a colour pallet in mind yet?_

_Regular lion colours,_ Jae types back. _warm amber eyes. I want to keep him with general lighter colours though, I think it would suit you better._

_I love it. I can’t wait to see it in person._

Dowoon comes in on the day of in a big warm hoodie and a pair of comfortable looking jeans.

“Hey, man, good to see you.” Jae greets him with a handshake. “Did you eat breakfast yet?”

He nods. “I could barely eat, I’m so nervous, but everyone always tells me that it’s important to have a full meal.”

“Don’t be nervous, everyone always says that I’ve got gentle hands.” Jae holds out the drawing to Dowoon again. “How’s this look? We may have to tweak the size a little to better fit your forearm, but this is approximately what it’s going to be like. Anything last minute changes you want to make?”

Dowoon shakes his head. “Like I said before, I trust you.”

The shop doesn’t actually open for another hour, so he and Dowoon are the only two people in the store. The only sound while Jae puts the stencil on is Florence Welch crooning in the background.

“Alright, do you want to do this sitting upright, or laying down?” Jae asks, “The table’s convertible.”

“Upright, please.”

Dowoon rushes to help Jae bring the table upright, despite his protests, and Jae can’t help noticing the way his hands shake a little.

“Hey, we don’t have to do this today.” He pauses in putting the disposable paper over the chair. “If you’re not ready, we can book an appointment for a different day, the design’s going to keep.”

“No, I’m okay.” Dowoon takes a deep breath, visibly forces himself to relax before sinking into the chair. “I want this.”

“You’re a badass, dude.” Jae says, grinning as he pulls his gloves on. “Good man. I’m going to start now, okay?”

Dowoo screws his eyes shut and nods. He stays completely silent through the first couple lines, his only indication of discomfort is the way his other hand is clenched into a tight fist. This isn’t a small tattoo, and if he can’t get Dowoon to relax, this session’s going to last an eternity.

“So, your first tattoo,” Jae glances up at Dowoon’s face. “what made you finally take the plunge?”

“Well, I had to work myself up to it with the ear piercings.” Dowoon winces when Jae goes over a sensitive spot. “But this is something that I’ve always wanted. I think a part of me thought that changing the way I looked would change the way I feel too. That I would turn into someone bolder, stronger.”

“You’re plenty strong. Even though it took you a little time to work up to it, you reached out and took what you wanted. That takes strength.”

There’s a little voice in the back of Jae’s head that whispers, _Hypocrite_ but he immediately squashes it.

He tells Dowoon to hook his phone up to the Bluetooth speakers and play whatever he wants. When Brian walks into the shop and notices that Dowoon’s already there, he sends Jae a look that he really hopes Dowoon didn’t notice. They don’t talk a whole lot, mostly lets the music wash over them, until Dowoon starts to wince a little more frequently again.

“So, the lion’s for strength?”

“Yeah,” Dowoon takes a deep breath in through his nose, out through his mouth. “it’s cheesy, I know. It’s Chronicles of Narnia levels of cheesy.”

“Nothing wrong with that, you’re less likely to regret it in the future if there’s meaning with it.” Jae glances up with a grin. “It helps if the art’s nice too.”

Dowoon grins back. “Lucky me, then. Do all yours have a meaning?”

“Depends on what counts as a ‘meaning’. My lobster, means I really like lobster.”

“Wait, you have a lobster tattoo?” Dowoon laughs.

“Hell yeah, I’ve got a lobster tattoo.” He shuffles around a little and uses his other foot to push down his sock, revealing his ankle. “Brian did it for me.”

The traditional little red lobster’s framed by a banner.

“No lobster, no life?” Dowoon reads out loud. He starts laughing so hard, Jae has to stop tattooing him. “Oh my god, that’s amazing.”

“It’d have been even more amazing if he’d let me do my original design!” Brian pipes up from his station.

“It was too big!” Jae insists, as Dowoon’s chuckles calm enough for him to keep tattooing. “Where would you have put that thing? I’m a skinny dude, I’m already pretty covered, and you were asking for too much real estate!”

“Dowoon, look at this thing.” Brian pretty much sprints over with his notebook. “It’s a masterpiece and he turned it down.”

“What the fuck, you kept it?!”

“Of course I kept it; I worked on this thing for two days!”

“Dude, I told you small, that thing wasn’t small!”

The second Dowoon catches sight of the drawing, he bursts into laughter again. Thankfully, Jae had anticipated it and had already stopped tattooing. The lobster is pretty hilarious, with his curling moustache, cowboy hat, and tiny pistol.

“Oh my god,” Dowoon manages by the time he’s got his breathing under control again. “I have no idea what I expected, but that wasn’t it.”

“It’s magnificent.” Brian says, kissing his fingertips. “You missed out, man. I’m gonna put him on my Insta and see if anyone else will give him a good home.”

“You can’t, you made him for me!” Jae hates how whiney his voice sounds, but Brian seems to bring out the juvenile part of him.

“Well, you’re not getting him and I don’t want to waste him!”

“But he was for me!”

“Look at him, Dowoon, so damn possessive.” Brian has this tone to his voice and Jae shoots him a deathglare that he completely ignores. “He’s marked you now, man, you’re never going to be able to get away from him.”

“Dude!” Jae lobs a scrunched up paper towel at Brian who cackles and runs away. “Not cool!”

Dowoon doesn’t seem bothered, though his ears have turned red. “Or maybe he’s stuck with me, now.”

“He’s just fucking with you, don’t worry about it.” Jae says, re-focusing on the tattoo. “Brian’s annoying.”

“He seems fun,” Dowoon says, relaxing back into the chair as they get back into the rhythm of things. “it must be nice to be able to work with your friends.”

“The pros for sure outweigh the cons.” Jae admits, “We can all get on each other’s nerves, we’re only human, but I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”

Dowoon’s quiet and Jae glances up to make sure he’s okay. There’s a quiet, sort of envy on his face and it makes Jae’s heart ache.

His voice is so quiet that Jae almost misses it over the buzzing of his machine. “Must be nice.”

“How about you? What do you do when you’re not flipping through the portfolios in our waiting room.”

“I’m a student, was a student,” He corrected, “I actually graduated last month.”

“Woah, congratulations, any plans?” Dowoon goes to shift a little before Jae grabs him by the arm to stop him. “No moving! You’re going to give him a lazy eye!”

“Sorry!” Dowoon settles down again and Jae keeps going. “It’s just that… I have an idea of what I want, but I’m still a little unsure about how to get there.”

“You’ve got time.” Jae says, “And you’re not exactly locked in once you decide.”

“I guess…”

“Besides, now you’re a little more bad-ass.” Jae sprays the tattoo down and gives it one last wipe before sitting up straight and stretching out his neck. “My next appointment is going to be in any second, so we’re going to have to do the colours next time, but go ahead and take a look.”

Dowoon freezes, more nervous than Jae’s ever seen him before, but when he catches sight of the lion on his forearm, his face completely changes.

“Wow.” There’s a sort of awe in his eyes and his other hand comes up to touch the ink before he remembers that it’s an open wound and he lets his hand drop again. “He looks amazing.”

“You did it, man.” Jae says, peeling his gloves off. “Obviously, it’ll be different with the colour, but you’re halfway there.”

“It already looks amazing.” Dowoon still hasn’t looked away from his tattoo, almost like he can’t believe that it’s his arm, and when he looks back up at Jae, his eyes are bright. “When can we finish?”

Jae laughs out loud and gives him a friendly smack on the back. “You’ve caught the bug, huh? Let me wrap you up, wash my hands, then we can go figure that out up front.”

“Wait, can I take a picture of it first?”

He can’t help grinning as Dowoon takes shot after shot of his forearm. “Do you want me to take a couple for you?”

“Would you? I really wanna show my mom.”

_Cute._ Jae thinks as he snaps a couple more pictures before wrapping him up. He rushes off to wash his hands and when he comes back, Dowoon’s showing off his tattoo to an equally enthusiastic Matthew.

“Looks great, man.” Matthew claps a giant hand onto Dowoon’s shoulder. “Jae’s my bro, but even objectively I can say you’ve picked a really good artist.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re about to be in my chair next.” Jae teases, before handing Dowoon the card reader. “I have an opening in three weeks, and we can finish up the colour, if you’re okay with that?”

“Sounds good to me. Same time?” Dowoon asks, putting it into his phone.

“Yep.” Jae says, adding the appointment into the system. “So, I know it’s your first, so here’s your aftercare sheet. Don’t use anything scented on it, clean it gently with non-scented, non-alcoholic soap, and keep it nice and dry for the first 3-4 days. After that, you can put a teeny bit of un-scented lotion on to it, but make sure you don’t get too heavy-handed.”

He hands Dowoon the aftercare sheet with the instructions circled. “There’s some suggestions for soaps and lotions too. If you have any questions… hit me up.”

“Thank you.” Dowoon takes the business card and paper, and when their fingers brush, his ears flush red. “I’ll see you.”

Jae waves until Dowoon’s out of the shop and across the street. He’s still go this dopy grin on his face and when he turns to look at Matthew, his arms are crossed across his chest and he’s staring at Jae.

“Bro, hit me up?” Matthew’s face promises mischief. “You’re so fucked.”

“Shut the hell up.” He walks over to let Matthew pull him into a hug. “Are we gonna work on this back-piece or what?”

* * *

Much to Jae’s disappointment, he doesn’t hear from Dowoon again until he comes into the shop for his appointment. Jae almost doesn’t recognize him, even though he’s sitting at his station, because he’s dyed his hair a fantastic silver colour and swept it away from his forehead. He looks like a little frost sprite and it takes a couple seconds for Jae to find his voice to greet him.

Dowoon makes eye contact with him and his ears turn bright red again. It’s an interesting contrast with his hair. “Hey, Jae.”

“Your hair!” He smiles even wider when Dowoon runs his fingers through it self-consciously. “Wow!”

“Do you like it? I’ve always wanted to do something dramatic with it.”

“It suits you very well. I love it.” He quickly and efficiently shaves Dowoon’s forearm. “I actually used to be blond too.”

“I know.” Dowoon’s blush spreads down his neck. “I mean, your picture’s in the back of your portfolio and you’re blond in it.”

“So you haven’t been stalking me on social media?” Jae asks, readying his supplies and snapping his gloves on. “Disappointing.”

“Well, maybe a little.” He manages a sheepish grin that morphs into a wince when Jae starts tattooing. “I have to admit, I was curious about you.”

“Oh god, hope you didn’t find my Twitter.”

“I won’t confirm or deny. I am a little sad you didn’t keep the red spiked hair though.”

“The duck-butt.” Jae groans.

Dowoon smothers a laugh. “I feel like most guys had the duck-butt hair at one point or another. It was either duck-butt, or that hair style where it was 80 percent bangs.”

“Honestly, I had that one too.”

“So did I! Back in high school!” Dowoon says, “What made you decide to go back to a darker colour?”

Jae’s honestly a little excited,because this is the first time that Dowoon’s really initiated conversation. “Honestly, my hair was just getting a little too fried and the black roots look more acceptable with light brown.”

“Root touch-ups are something I’m really not looking forward to.” Dowoon sighs, “And I wasn’t really expecting all the attention it would get me.”

“It’s pretty eye-catching, but you’re a good looking guy, revel in it.” Jae tilts his head to the side to inspect the lion before adding another line of brown to the mane. Jamie must be eavesdropping because the look she shoots Jae makes him want to die.

“Uh, thanks.” The flush has spread all the way down Dowoon’s arms. He’s so damn charming, Jae wants to put him into his pocket and keep him forever.

“So, did you pick a name for this guy yet?”

“Honestly, I still haven’t decided. What’s your lobster’s name?”

“Money.” Jae says easily, “It doesn’t have to be deep, and you don’t actually have to name him, it’s your tattoo.”

“Maybe I should just name him Dowoon.” He laughs, “I mean, I did say it was supposed to be me, but stronger.”

“If you’d like.” Jae smiles up at him. “Dowoon Jr?”

“Do?”

“Woon?”

“Dowoonie?”

“Dowoonie?” Jae echoes, “For a big, badass lion?”

“Why not?” He challenges, just a little red in the ears. “He’s still a cat. Just a big cat.”

“He fits, he sits.” Jae agrees, “Have you ever seen that video of the lion who’s playing with the rubber tire and he just gets stuck in it?”

“No, that sounds adorable!” Dowoon immediately pulls out his phone to look for it.

“Not right now!” Jae waves at him to stop. “You’re going to laugh, and the lion’s going to get fucked up.”

“You mean Dowoonie.”

“So, you’ve decided on Dowoonie?”

“It’s cute, I like cute.”

“Me too.” The eye-contact between the two of them lasts just a breath too long, both of them smiling dopily at one another, before Jae clears his throat and turns back to the tattoo. “Anyway, Dowoonie’s going to be simultaneously badass and adorable.”

“I’m already badass and adorable.”

“Well, it’s like experience points, the tattoo just ups your exp bar.”

“Is this a one-time boost, or do I get double the points with everything I do now?”

“I guess that depends on you.” Jae switches machines to start on the details. “Maybe we should say that it’s got charges, like a magic item. Three per day.”

“Sounds fair to me, wouldn’t want to get too OP.”

“Yeah, you’ve already got way too much going for you; leave something for the rest of us.”

“Says man who’s an amazing artist and fantastic musician.”

“So, I guess you did creep me online.”

Jae laughs at the way Dowoon struggles to shrug while keeping his one arm still. “Guilty as charged. I’m a product of my generation.”

“If it weren’t for the whole ‘professional conduct’ thing, I probably would have looked you up too.”

“Isn’t it more fun with a little mystery though?”

“I suppose,” Jae says, finishing up a highlight in the lion’s eye. “it isn’t as though we had a hard time thinking of things to talk about.”

“Time really did seem to fly past with you.” Dowoon admits, “I think it helps that you’ve got good taste in music.”

“You don’t have to flatter me anymore.” Jae sprays the tattoo down and gives it one last wipe, taking away the last of the ink. “You’re all done.”

“Wow.” Dowoon’s staring down at the lion who stares back. He’s turned slightly to the side, little pink tongue just showing along with sharp bottom teeth. He doesn’t look angry, rather calm and strong, mane a halo behind him. There’s life in the lion’s amber eyes and it’s almost like if you stared it long enough, it would blink. Jae always puts out his best work, but he’s really proud of this one.

Jamie and Brian bound over to take a look, ooh-ing and ahh-ing appropriately while Dowoon preens.

“Alright, alright, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get a couple pictures in front of the backdrop. Do you want us to tag you in the post?”

“Sure.” Dowoon holds patiently while Jae takes a couple shots. “Maybe you could send me the photos too?”

“Sure, e-mail okay?”

“Sure.”

Jae wraps him up again and goes to wash his hands. When he comes back, Dowoon’s by the counter with Brian who’s making small talk. They continue talking until after Dowoon pays, and Jae tries his best to think about if there’s some way he can causally ask to stay in contact without coming off like a complete and total creep.

“Listen,” Jae glances up from the card reader to see that Dowoon’s holding out a thick black book to him. “I don’t know if you guys are taking apprentices, but I’d really love if you would consider me.”

The books full of illustrations. Portraits, scenery, but mostly animals. They’re all lifelike and dynamic, he notices the same cat and dog make more than one appearance, and despite the different mediums used, all in black and white.

“They’re beautiful,” He says, looking back up at Dowoon. “but I’m a colour artist…”

“Oh, I know, I actually wanted Brian.”

There’s a beat of silence before Jamie and Brian start laughing so loudly that Jae can feel the heat rising to his face. His only saving grace is that Sungjin and Wonpil weren’t in until later in the evening, because the latter would never _ever_ let him forget this.

Brian walks over to Dowoon, still wiping tears of laugher from his eyes, before bringing him over to his station to talk.

Jamie’s breathing heavily as she all but crawls over to Jae, still shaking with laughter. “I cannot believe I just got to see that happen.”

“Shut up. Do you want me to touch up the bird on your wrist or not?”

She sticks her wrist right up in his face. “All yours!”

Brian’s station is tucked away in the corner behind him, Jae can’t even subtly glance over to see if he and Dowoon are still taking, so he settles for listening to Jamie ramble on about whatever annoying thing Bambam had done that weekend.

He’s brightening up the highlight on one of the wings when Dowoon and Brian walk over with big smiles on their faces.

“Ohh,” Jamie raises an eyebrow. “good news?”

“Depends on who you’re asking.” Brian says, “I called the big boss though, and he said we totally have it in the budget for an apprentice, so I guess you’re gonna be seeing a lot more of this one around.”

“Really?” Jamie brightens and Jae tries his best to keep his heartbeat under control. “Thank god, I was sick of it just being me and all the old fogies all the time.”

“I’m only five years older than you!” Jae protests, “Besides, Dowoon’s older than you too.”

“It’s just on a trial basis for the first month or two.” Dowoon says, but he still looks pleased. “I’m really excited to learn from all of you.”

“He’ll technically be _my_ apprentice though,” Brian says, throwing an arm over Dowoon’s shoulder. “so, you know. Act accordingly.”

Jae must be making a weird face because Jamie sighs dramatically. “Why are you always so possessive?”

Brian rolls his eyes and shoos Jae away. “Just go wash your hands, you two go talk, I’ll finish up.”

“There’s nothing to talk about!” Jae protests as Jamie raises a leg to push him in Dowoon’s general direction. “There’s nothing to talk about!”

“I mean, maybe there’s a little bit to talk about?” Dowoon says, pulling Jae away from Jamie and Brian. “Listen, if you’re not comfortable with it, since I’ll be apprenticing in your shop and all, it’s okay, but I’d really like to get to know you better.”

“I’d love that.” Jae clears his throat, "So, if you'd always intended to get an apprenticeship with Brian, why not get a tattoo from him instead?"

"Your drawings all carry this sort of... buoyant feeling with them." Dowoon admits, turning redder with ever word. "They make me feel optimistic and strong, and I need a little more of that in my life. A little splash of colour."

Jae’s still wearing his gloves and can’t touch anything, so Dowoon scrawls his number on to his arm with one of the Sharpies from Sungjin’s station. “Call me.”

Dowoon bolts out of the shop so quickly that he forgets his backpack and has to run back and grab it, almost tripping over his own feet. He pauses for a moment before impulsively pecking Jae on the cheek then sprinting back out.

Jae stands frozen in place for a couple moments before Brian’s voice shakes him out of his stupor.

“Dude, go wash your hands.” He rolls his eyes before turning his attention back to Jamie. “Swear to god, I don’t know what he’d do without us.”

Jamie nods. “Useless.”

“Shut the hell up.” Jae flips them the bird, but there’s no heat behind his words.

He spends the rest of the day with a dopey smile on his face and butterflies in his stomach.

**Author's Note:**

> Is this too many tattoo aus? Maybe. Am I gonna stop? No.
> 
> The lobster tattoo that Brian wanted to give Jae is based off of this one. 
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/everywinter1)/[Tumblr](https://everywinter.tumblr.com/)/[CC](https://curiouscat.me/everywinter)


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